Broken Roses
by Blood Rose Vampiress
Summary: It's been years since Kuronue's death, and now Kurama's dating Hiei. But what happens when Kuronue suddenly appears, alive? Can Kurama choose between his old flame and his new lover? HieixKurama, KuronuexKurama. Yaoi.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Okay, so this is the first chapter of my KuronuexKurama HieixKurama fic. Obviously Kurama's with Hiei and then Kuronue comes back... This is also my first time writing Kuronue, so I hope I get him right.

* * *

"No… I know what's going to happen! I don't want to see it again! Please, please don't make me see it again!" Kurama knew he was dreaming, but that didn't make anything better. It was as if he was watching a movie, a movie he already knew the ending to. He watched, scared and frozen, unable to stop this scene from playing out.

_Two demons ran through a palace, one with long, silver flowing hair dressed in white, the other with long, raven hair and bat wings dressed in black. Suddenly, a pendent flew through the air, heading back the way they came. The bat-like one's eyes widened, and he turned, starting to run back for it._

_"Don't, Kuronue!" the silver-haired demon shouted, turning as he watched the other run back._

_"I need it!" was the reply, and the bat demon kept running. He bent to pick it up and turned to go. That was when it happened. Pieces of bamboo fell from the air, stabbing the ban through the leg, making it unable for him to run. Then more pieces came down, stabbing through his body._

_"Kuronue!" the fox demon cried, unsure of what to do. The decision was made for him._

_"Forget about me and run, Kurama!" the other screamed, and, after a moment's hesitation, the fox demon turned and ran, leaving his friend behind._

_"No… no… Kuronue…. Stop, Kuronue, don't do it! KURONUE!"_

Kurama woke with a start, bolting up in bed, drenched in sweat. Hiei sat on the edge of his bed, watching him with worry. It was the third time Kurama had had the dream this week. Kurama had told Hiei not to wake him up when he dreamed about that, that he needed to, but Hiei still found it hard not to shake Kurama, to release him from his nightmares.

"Are you okay?" Hiei asked softly, putting his hand on Kurama's shoulder. Kurama was one of the few people he would do this for, one of the few people he cared enough to do this for.

The fox demon nodded, smiling a faint smile. "I'm used to it," he said quietly, looking down at his hands which were clenched into fists and resting on his lap. "I'm used to it all by now… the screams, the blood… I know that palace hall by heart."Kurama gave a small sigh, closing his eyes. "It never gets any easier though. Maybe the dreams will stop after tomorrow. That's the anniversary of his death, you know."

Hiei didn't know, and he wished Kurama had shared this information with him sooner. "It better get better after that," Hiei growled, his eyes narrowing. "There are times when I hate that damn man… hate him for making you suffer like this."

Kurama glanced over at Hiei, who had a furious look in his eyes. "It's not his fault," Kurama told him quietly. "You can't blame Kuronue. He didn't plan to die. It just… happened."

"Maybe if he forgot that stupid pendent…."

"I told you, that pendent meant a lot to him. He couldn't just leave it. Anyway, it's no use talking about it now. It's over. I want to forget about it for now so I can move on with my life."

Hiei nodded silently, not saying what came to his mind. Kurama would never forget about Kuronue, maybe the nightmares would stop, but he would never really forget. The fox demon would put flowers on the edge of a lake in Makai again tomorrow… the place where he'd first met Kuronue. Hiei knew Kurama and Kuronue used to be lovers, but he wasn't at all jealous. How could you be jealous of a dead guy? Besides, even though Hiei knew Kurama would always have a special place in his heart for Kuronue, it was Hiei who he spent the nights with, Hiei who was there by his side. He was with Hiei now, not Kuronue.

Kurama had told Hiei about Kuronue and what his relationship had been like with him about a week before they had got together. Hiei was instantly outraged by what happened, and infuriated at that man for breaking Kurama's heart. Over time Hiei had learned Kurama didn't hold any grudges against his old friend, and he wouldn't be happy if anyone spoke badly of Kuronue. It was killing him, however, to watch his lover suffer like this. But there was nothing to do besides whisper soothing words and hold him tightly, hoping his could somehow squeeze the pain away.

"It's a good thing I don't live with my mother anymore," Kurama said, a small smile on his face. "I'd scare her to death with all the screaming."

_You scare me_, Hiei thought, but didn't say anything as he put his arm around Kurama and pulled him close. The fox demon held tightly to Hiei, as if afraid to let go, afraid that if he did, Hiei would vanish like Kuronue did. Hiei pressed closer to him in return, wishing he could shield Kurama from everything.

The two stayed that way for a long time, until, at last, they both drifted to sleep again.

Outside on the dark streets, the moon shone brightly, pooling across the ground. In the middle of the moonlight, a man walked silently, quiet as a mouse. But this was no mouse, this was a bat.

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**A/N:** Like it? Hate it? Should I write more? Review please! ^.^


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Yay, the second chapter's finally out. I was stuck for a while on this, especially on how to make it so Kuronue didn't die, but I think I did okay. Thanks for your reviews, by the way! I'm glad you liked the first chapter! Please tell me what you think of this one ^.^

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It was an odd thing, time was. An odd, perplexing thing. Years could go by, faces could change, bodies could get old and withered, and yet, memories could stay fresh, things that had happened decades ago could play out like a scene from a movie in your head as if they had happened yesterday. And scars, though they might seem to have healed, were still there, lurking under the surface. Wounds could be re-opened, as if they had just been freshly made, and feelings that had been long since been hidden could return.

Standing by the crystal clear lake in Makai, holding a bouquet of roses in his hand, soft breeze blowing wisps of red hair into his eyes, Kurama indeed felt that time was a bewildering thing. Images flashed before his vision, images of a tall, raven-haired demon dressed in black with large, magnificent wings folded against his back. He smiled, a slightly cocky smile, and held out a hand. Kurama reached toward him, wanting desperately to grip the hand, to hold it tight, convince himself it was real and never let go, to hang on forever, as if by doing this he could protect the other from all harm.

But Kurama's hand met empty air instead of flesh, the image dissolved and the fox demon was reminded once more that he would never feel the touch again.

"Kuronue..." his eyes stung with tears, and he fell to his knees, the roses dropping from his hand. If he could only see him one more time...

"I feel like I've searched the whole human world," mumbled an annoyed voice from the shadows of an alleyway. "If he's really human this is where he'd most likely be… that tournament ended a couple of weeks ago so he should have returned by now… but where the fuck is he?" With an annoyed sigh, the speaker trudged down the alley, grumbling under his breath.

His hair was jet black and held in a high ponytail that reached his waist. His eyes were a golden brown color, and on his head was what looked to be a shabby hat. He was dressed in tight, black, somewhat revealing clothing, and on his back were what could only be known as wings. In his hand he carried a pendant with a red stone which he seemed to have a habit of swinging around. Kuronue was back.

Normally, one would find it strange to discover a demon that had died many years ago to be walking around well and healthy as if nothing had happened. It _was_ strange. However, Kuronue was an exception. He wasn't actually dead. That day, so long ago, when he had been trapped by bamboo and stabbed many times over, was certainly a day the bat demon would never forget. The last day he'd seen Kurama.

_Pain shot through Kuronue's leg and he looked down, startled, to see a piece of bamboo embedded through it. A trap! He tried to move, to free himself, but he couldn't, and soon more bamboo had fallen, stabbing through his body, tearing his clothes, making it unable to move._

"Kuronue!"

Forcing himself to look up, he saw Kurama standing a little ways to his right, a horrified expression on his face.

"G-go, Kurama! Save yourself!" Kuronue forced himself to shout, breath coming in short, painful gasps. Kurama hesitated, eyes locked on Kuronue.

"Go, run!" he shouted more forcefully this time, wanting nothing more than for his love to get away.

With one sorrowful, lingering look, Kurama turned and ran.

Triumph flooded Kuronue's body before everything went black."Do ya think he's going to stay that way forever?"

* * *

"Give the guy a break; he was injured pretty badly."

Is this what death feels like? I thought when you were dead you couldn't feel pain anymore… or hear voices….

"Hey look, he's moving!"

Kuronue let out a groan as pain coursed through his body. Slowly, his golden eyes opened. He could just make out two rather blurry figures in his line of vision, but couldn't see their faces clearly. "Are you… angels?" he whispered croakily, trying to raise his head. "Or devils….?"

There was a snort from one of the figures. "Dude, you're not dead. So we're not angels or devils. We're just regular demons."

"I'm not… dead?"

"That's right! You had us going for a while there though. We thought you'd never wake up. You've been unconscious for about a month."

"A month? But… what happened? All I remember is the bamboo trap… I thought it killed me…."

"Nearly. Lucky for you, we happened to be passing through with some friends. We planned to steal some important scripture from the palace but when we got there we found out it had already been stolen! Anyway, we were about to leave when we saw you lying on the ground covered in blood. We knew the scripture had gone missing recently; like maybe hours ago or something, so when we saw you lying there we thought maybe you had tried to take it."

Kurama took it, Kuronue thought with a faint smile, trying to sit up. "Go on… why did you… rescue me?"

"Well, we saw that you were still breathing, and we figured that if you had tried to take the scripture you must have been pretty brave, even if you had failed. And we like brave people. We thought there might be use in getting you to join us. So we brought you back with us and tended to your wounds. And there you have it."

"Who exactly is 'us'? Kuronue asked, trying to get a better look at his rescuers.  
"I'm Akako, and this is Hiyoshi, said the demon who was speaking. "We're part of a large band of thieves who are trying their best to get to the top!" Akako struck a pose and Hiyoshi rolled his eyes. "And we're doing a pretty good job of it too! Ever heard of the Blood Thirsty Youkai?"

"Er… no."

"Well you do now! So anyway, now that you're awake and all, want to join us?"

To make a long story short, Kuronue eventually joined the thieves after he searched high and low for Kurama. No one had word on the legendary Youko, and Kuronue had finally come to believe that he was dead. Sorrow had overtaken him, and for days he went around not eating or drinking, until Akako made a decided to force some sense into him.

_"If your partner's dead, he's dead. There's nothing you can do about it. I know I may sound cruel, but it's the truth. He's dead and you're alive, so live!" _

Reluctantly, Kuronue began to follow that advice, and ended up becoming good friends with the Blood Thirsty Youkai.

Decades later, word had become to spread about the legendary Dark Tournament. Apparently, there was a really strange but powerful team this year, made mostly out of humans. Normally such things wouldn't interest Kuronue, but one conversation between two random demons he had happened to pass by on the street hit him head on.

_"I heard the demon thief Youko Kurama fought in this year's tournament!"_

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. But he's human now! I heard he's only fought in his demon form twice!"

"No way… the Youko Kurama? A human?

"Yeah, at least that's what I heard."

When Kuronue left, his heart was pounding in his chest, and he had trouble remembering how to breathe. Kurama… a human… could it be? He was alive?

The bat demon had left the Blood Thirty Youkai two days later, vowing to search every inch of the human world until he found his beloved Kurama. So here he was, and he certainly was living up to his vow! He had been nearly everywhere by now, and still no sign of Kurama.

_Well, I'll just have to keep looking,_ Kuronue told himself determinedly as he headed out of the alley and onto the street. _I'll find him! I know I will! _

It was getting dark when Hiei began to walk down the almost deserted roads, deep in thought. He had been going to see Kurama, but when he got to the other's house, he wasn't home. Hiei knew that Kurama had planned to go to Makai today because of the anniversary of Kuronue's death, but he didn't think he'd be gone so long. However, the fire demon was trying not to worry. Kurama could easily take care of himself. He was, after all, the legendary demon thief, even if he was in human form.

However, it wasn't really the thought that Kurama was in physical danger that was getting to him, but knowledge that today the fox demon might not be all that stable mentally. These past few weeks had been hard for Kurama, what with the anniversary of Kuronue's death coming up, and today was actually the day. Was Kurama dealing with it all right?

_Stop worrying!_ Hiei told himself sternly, shaking his head disgustedly. Kurama was strong. Kurama wouldn't just fall apart.

Reassured, Hiei turned and began to make his way back to his lover's house, planning on waiting for him there until he came home. He was almost reached it, when suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow moving quickly not too far to the right of him. He knew instantly it was a demon. This was strange, since normally demons were not in the Human World. He was pretty much the only demon who came here, except for those who tried to cause trouble.

Narrowing his eyes, Hiei changed direction, quickening his pace, and began to silently follow the other demon. If the other knew he was being followed he didn't let on, and Hiei was able to get pretty close to him without being seen. He was about to confront the other, when suddenly the demon stopped.

Hiei froze. The demon was standing in a pool of moonlight that illuminated his features. Long, raven hair, black clothes, wings, a strange hat, a pendant…. Kurama had described Kuronue many times to Hiei, and this demon standing there in the light of the moon was the spitting image of him. But no, it couldn't be! Kuronue was dead! But if that was true, then who was this? An imposter? Why would someone want to imposter him?

Without warning, the Kuronue look-alike turned, locking eyes with Hiei. Now there was no choice to talk to him.

Wearing his trademark scowl, Hiei started forward, and the other demon met him halfway. The demon nodded at him, a slight smile on his face. Hiei didn't like the smile. He found it cocky and arrogant, and knew at once he wasn't going to like this man. Even if it was Kurama's beloved Kuronue. _Especially_ if it was Kuronue.

"Hello," the demon said, still wearing that smile. Hiei grunted in response.

"Maybe you could help me," the bat-like demon started, ignoring Hiei's less than friendly greeting. "I'm looking for someone. I have been for some time. I heard he was in the Human World."

Hiei's scowl turned into a full-on glare. He couldn't be looking for Kurama, could he? He wasn't really Kuronue. He couldn't be. Kuronue was DEAD! But this guy….

"I'm looking for a demon thief by the name of Youko Kurama. Do you know him?"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Sorry this chapter took so long, I was busy with school . Thanks for all your reviews!

Anyway, enjoy!

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_"Do you know him?" _

The words rang over and over again in Hiei's ears while he just stared at the other demon, not saying a thing, his scowl still in place. Yes, this was Kuronue, Kurama's former lover. It must be. Dammit. Why did this have to happen now? Why when he and Kurama were so happy together? It was like a nightmare come true.

_I must do whatever it takes to get him away from here_, Hiei thought, determination in his eyes. _I won't let him ruin our lives_.

"No, I don't know him," Hiei said finally, looking Kuronue directly in the eyes. And with that, he turned sharply and began to walk away, but was stopped when a hand gripped his arm painfully and forced him back.

"Get the hell off me," Hiei demanded, glaring sharply at him. "Do you want a death wish?" He tried to shake the other off his arm, but Kuronue held tight.

"No," Kuronue replied softly, looking Hiei deeply in the eyes and making the smaller demon somewhat uncomfortable. "I know you know him. I can smell his scent on you."

Shit.

"Well so what if I do know him?" Hiei snared, giving Kuronue a look that would send most people running for cover. "I don't have to tell you anything I don't want to."

Kuronue looked at the smaller demon levelly. "No you don't, but I'm asking you. He was my… partner a long time ago. I want to find him again. Please tell me where he is."

Like hell Hiei would tell him. "Pathetic. If you want to see him so badly why don't you go find him yourself?"

Kuronue gave what seemed to be an irritated sigh. "I suppose I'll have to. I thought you would make things easier and just tell me, but I guess I'm not that lucky." And with that, Kuronue turned and started walking quickly away.

Too late Hiei realized he should have tried to kill the other demon. If he found Kurama (and Hiei assumed that wouldn't be all that hard since he had detected Kurama's scent on him) there could be trouble. Lots of trouble. Hiei would never admit this out loud, but he could be a little insecure at times when it came to Kurama. Especially regarding Kuronue. After all the times Kurama had talked about Kuronue, how couldn't he be? How couldn't he not wonder once in a while whether Kurama loved Kuronue more than him, whether he would go back to Kuronue if he were alive? And now that Hiei knew that Kuronue _was_alive, Hiei's insecurities intensified by 50%. He must find Kurama quickly, before Kuronue did. Find him and get him out of here so he'd never see Kuronue. And quickly.

So, without another thought, Hiei began to make his way toward the Makai.

* * *

As he walked home, an occasional tear would make its way down Kurama's cheek, and the fox demon would quickly wipe it away and scold himself for crying. It had been so many years since Kuronue's death; he should be over it by now, shouldn't he? Especially now that he had Hiei. And Hiei was great, Kurama reminded himself, as he wiped yet another tear away. He was very different from Kuronue, but he was still amazing, and Kurama loved him with all his heart. So why was that very heart still aching for Kuronue? It was affecting him so much that he could almost _smell Kuronue._

…Wait. Kurama turned slowly to the right. Even though he was in human form, his Youko senses still worked, though much less. _That scent… it's just like Kuronue's was_, Kurama thought, his heart beginning to beat a bit faster. _What if… no, it can't be… he's dead! I saw him get trapped! He can't still be alive. Stop it, Kurama. Stop hoping for something that can never happen. It will only disappoint you._But Kurama couldn't stop himself. If there was even the slightest possibility that Kuronue might still be alive, Kurama wanted to find him.

Concentrating intensely, Kurama begin to run in the direction he thought Kuronue's scent was strongest, all the while images and scenes of the past floating through his head.

* * *

_It was a rainy, dreary day when Youko had first met Kuronue. He had just stolen a large amount of gold from an insanely rich demon, and was just about to head home when someone blocked his path. Another guard? Youko thought he had left all of them lying unconscious in the halls._

_"Surrender the money or be killed," came a deep, silky voice, and for some reason unknown to him shivers ran down his spine. It wasn't out of fear though, but something else… something Youko couldn't quite place… until he looked at the other._

_Dressed all in black with long raven hair that hung from a high ponytail and a strange looking hat on his head, the demon's indigo blue eyes burned into Youko. Damn. The man was utterly gorgeous. That, however, didn't make any difference. No matter what the man looked like, he was still an enemy, and Youko wouldn't hesitate to kill him._

_"I think I'm going to be the only one doing the killing here," Youko sneered, a rose whip appearing in Youko's hand from what seemed like nowhere, and he made a quick but intense slash at the demon. The demon, however, met the whip with a long, silver blade (which also seemed to come out of nowhere), stopping it._

_Youko raised an eyebrow. This demon was better than the other guards, that was for sure. They couldn't even dodge one attack!_

_The two sparred for a while, each getting steadily more tired. Suddenly the demon was gone. Youko whirled around, searching, and soon spotted him a nearby tree. "Running away?" he taunted, smirking. The next words out of the demons mouth, however, took Youko by surprise._

_"Nope. I don't want to fight you anymore, though. I've seen enough. I never appeared to fight you in the first place."_

_Youko blinked at him. "Then why the hell would you say 'surrender the money or be killed'?"_

_"I wanted to see what you could do," the demon replied, jumping down from the tree and landing in front of Youko. "You're Youko, the legendary demon fox thief. I could tell from the moment I saw you. Long silver hair, ears, a tail, and eyes like ice. You're pretty famous around these parts, and I wanted to see for myself if you were everything you were said to be. It seems you live up to the expectations." The demon smiled and held out his hand. "I'm Kuronue, also a thief, though not as famous as you. Yet."_

_Youko just looked at Kuronue, not taking his hand. "I should still kill you," he muttered, shaking his head. "But since you've proven yourself to be a worthy opponent, I guess I'll let you live. At least for now."_

_Kuronue smirked. "Fine by me."_

_And that was the beginning of everything. Youko, who had wanted to start a band of thieves for the longest time, recruited Kuronue to join, and the bat demon soon became his second in command and close friend. The feelings he had when he had first met Kuronue only intensified, and he soon began to realize he was falling in love._

_"Kuronue, come here," Youko said quietly, beckoning him over from the other side of what Youko liked to call the "throne room" in the abandoned mansion that had become the hideout for them and their group of thieves._

_Kuronue, who had been studying an old painting, turned away and made his way toward Youko._

_Youko's heart was pounding. He had never had such feelings for anyone before, and he was… scared. The "King of Thieves" scared. Youko cringed. He had to get rid of that fear as soon as possible or it could ruin his reputation someday. Grabbing Kuronue forcefully by the arm, he pulled the bat demon to him and kissed him harshly._

_Kuronue was frozen for a minute, stunned, and Youko's heart almost stopped. Kuronue didn't want this._

_However, before he could pull away, Kuronue had wrapped his arms around his waist and was kissing him back intensely, making Youko's heart race. His eyes closed and his arms draped around the taller demon's neck, pressing against him. He poured all of his feelings into that kiss, feelings that he had wanted to share for so long. They pulled away for much-needed air, panting, then locked together once more. Kuronue's tongue ghosted over Youko's lips, asking for entrance, which was quickly granted._

_There were many more kisses like this, intoxicating, mind-numbing kisses that made Youko forget everyone and everything but Kuronue. Their days spent together were the best Youko had ever experienced, and the fox demon thought nothing could ever go wrong. Until that day._

* * *

Quickly Kurama snapped out of his thoughts, a tear running down his face. He had to stop remembering, reminiscing, because all thoughts lead back to that day. Closing his mind to the haunting memories of his past, Kurama focused only on finding Kuronue's scent. He turned corner after corner, eyes darting around, looking everywhere, wanting more than anything to catch his old lover in one of the shadows. But, alas, Kurama didn't seem to be getting any closer to the scent, and his eyes only fell on trigs and the occasional rat.

_Of course I'm not going to find him, he's dead!_ Kurama scolded, furious at himself for even having the slightest sliver of hope. _He's dead and can never come back. I will never see him again and I'll just have to deal with that._

Turning, Kurama began making his way home, back to Hiei and his human life. Best to leave to past in the past.

He was about to turn onto his street when there came a rustling noise from behind him. Before he could look, a startlingly familiar voice called out, "Youko!"

Kurama froze, breath caught in his throat. Then, slowly, he turned around and found himself standing face-to-face with a bat demon who had long raven hair tied in a high ponytail and was wearing tight black clothing, a weird hat, and a ruby pendant.

"Kuronue..."

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**A/N:** Please tell me what you think! Reviews make me want to keep writing =)


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